we ran out of time for the ridiculous. i'm so sorry. that does it for this edition of 360 but we'll see you again one hour from now at 10:00 p.m. eastern. thanks very much for watching. stay tuned, piers morgan starts right now.

tonight hurricane christie, outraged over the deal congress didn't vote for. >> new jersey and new yorkers are tired about being treated like second class citizens. shame on you. shame on congress. >> top new york democrat christine quinn tells me what she wants now from the speaker john boehner. plus a family still struggling after sandy. >> my politicians are going to hear from me and from my community. >> hillary clinton out of the hospital, but that hasn't stopped the conspiracy theories. why some of the right claim the secretary's illness is not what it seems. >> people who go out and generate rumors and lies are stupid. >> and a star is born. in about six months. the unending fascination with kimye. this is "piers morgan tonight". good evening i'm wolf blitzer in for piers morgan. it isn't often you hear a

politician a governor no less on the job react with the kind of anger we heard from chris christie today. he says what he thinks and what he thinks about john boehner's failure to vote on superstorm sandy aid. >> i was given no explanation. i was called at 11:20 last night by leader cantor and told authority for the vote was pulled by the speaker. and our delegation asked for a meeting with the speaker at the time. they were refused. i called the speaker four times last night after 11:20 and he did not take my calls. >> governor christi isn't the only one fuming about the sandy fumble. joining us now exclusively christine quinn, the speaker of the new york city council. when you heard about that what went through your mind immediately? >> i was stunned. i mean it's really unbelievable how speaker boehner and his party could just walk away from

all the new yorkers and people in new jersey and people in connecticut in need. i don't really know how you just abdicate your responsibility like that. i mean we have countless people in new york and new jersey who have been devastated by this storm and quite frankly as speaker boehner told them to just drop dead and it's outrageous and to promise us now a vote weeks from now? why should we believe him at all? it's just shocking. >> it's bean pretty contentious 24 hours if you will. we're talking about $60 billion at stake. listen to governor christi, this is around 2:00 p.m. today. >> ah-ha. >> national disasters happen in represented states and blue states. and states with democratic governors and republican governors. we respond to innocent victims of natural disasters, not as republicans or democrats, but as

americans. or at least we did. until last night. >> but at 3:30 p.m. or so, after about a 20-minute meeting with the speaker john boehner and the majority lead eric cantor congressman peter king of new york met with reporters, listen to this, speaker and he said this. >> bottom line is that between friday morning and january 15th, two votes we'll bring $60 billion as absolutely necessary to new york, new jersey and connecticut. so as far as i'm concerned, i think i can speak to all members of the new york and new jersey delegations it was an extremely positive meeting. >> extremely positive meeting. are you satisfied with day surances that congressman king got? >> have a lot of respect for congressman member king. i won't be satisfied until it's done. really? i mean speaker boehner as i under it gave lots of republicans, members of congress, other leaders in this situation assurances that this

would happen before this congress left. it didn't. now, it is certainly more positive that they said they are going to vote than saying nothing at all. but what message has speaker boehner sent to you that people who are the victims of hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, things of that nature, natural disasters we become pawns in a political game. what kind of a message does that send. i hope he does the right thing between now and january 15 but i won't believe it until i see it because any assurances we've gotten until now have just been wiped away. >> why do you think it's taken so long to get this money approved because we've got some examples -- >> yeah. >> -- the land fall signing relief package 66 days, awaiting sandy. katrina land fall was ten days. gustav and ike was 17 days. the andrew was 31 days.

why do you think why is it happening like this right now taking so long? >> i don't really know why it's happening so long. and why it's taken so long. it's hard to think it isn't anything but politics or quite frankly a lack of leadership or somehow a lack of concern. but you know what? speaker boehner should do between now and when he says he's going to vote. he should come to new york and new jersey. he should walk with me and others in queens. he should go to belle harbor, to breezy point. talk to those folks whose homes were burned to the ground. i was standing there with senator schumer who worked so hard to get us this money. standing there as people walked up to that area that had been burnt and you could tell, wolf, on their face whether their home had made it or not. they would see whether their home was bunt to the ground or still standing. i don't know why speaker boehner didn't do what he should have done. why he didn't lead.

he need to answer those questions information in coney island and rockaway. there's no good answer for being speaker of the house of representatives and being so devoid of any leadership or really responsible action and it sends not just a bad message to those who have been impacted by sandy, this leaves a question mark for americans about what congress will do when they and if they are ever in need. >> i know we're out of time but i know you sent a letter to speaker boehner today signed by 47 of the 50 new york city council members. tell us what you wanted, what you wanted to have in that letter, why you felt it was so important to be heard. >> because i want speaker boehner to know this isn't about politic, this is about real people who were republicans and democrats. who were independents, conservatives. who saw in some cases their entire life's work, their homes

wiped away. people who lost family members. first responders who risked their lives and he couldn't take action to get us the money, the billions of dollars we deserve as americans to rebuild and recover and i want him to know what his lack of action, what his failure to lead, what his failure to live up to his responsibilities, the impact that has had on us. now, look, we're new yorkers, we're tough, we'll get by but what he did was wrong and he needs to know that. >> you want him to remain as speaker of the house? >> look i'm a democrat i want speaker of the house to be a democrat. that's up to them to decide. i don't care what title he does or doesn't have. i want the $60 billion that we're owed. speaker boehner whatever title he has or doesn't have needs to restore the country and new york's faith in the federal government by getting us this money. we deserve it and we in fact paid to the federal government.

>> christine quinn, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> the battle over sandy aid is about much more than politics, it's about real people trying to put their lives back together. joining us now is the martin family, father ray, mother linda and their children, 8-year-old matthew, 10-year-old terrence, 13-year-old lauren and 15-year-old ray. their home burned to the ground in superstorm sandy. first of all, ray, tell us how are you doing? what's going on with your family, with your community? it's been what a little bit more than two months. >> yes, it has. it's just over two months now. we're doing relatively well. after the storm, i was rather lucky. my mother lived 15 minutes away from me in brooklyn. so immediately we had a place to go unlike many of my neighbors. as you had mentioned my house did burn down there were 25 houses in my neighborhood that

did burn. but more so than that, there were hundreds, problem thousands of families displaced due to flooding. there was no electricity, no gas, no services down there so to speak. immediate aftermath was extremely difficult, it was basically a neighborhood on the move. >> lauren, tell us about the rescue. you were rescued by dillon smith who was named as "people's" magazine hero the year. he passed in a recent accident. tell us what he did for you, the rescue. >> i went across my street and i couldn't stand any more, so he came over and helped me on a surf board until i could stand and i wish i was able to thank him because he like saved me. so i wish i could thank him. >> your older brother ray how are you doing? you're 15 years old. >> i'm doing better. i've seen the better of people

after the storm. so it's good to see, you know, everyone getting together in rockaway and breezy to come together and just reform and, you know, get back to where we were if not better. so been tough, you know, at first but i've had a lot of help, you know. i had a family take me in for two months. and it was right on my school campus site helped me and then my friends have helped me. you know, i can't thank them enough. >> let me ask your dad how he feels all this bickering, political bickering over the aid that's required to help your family, all the families, the communities in new york and new jersey and connecticut. what would you tell your congressional leaders if they were watching you right now? >> it's disgraceful. it's unconscionable. it's two months since the storm has hit. i'm quite frankly amazed that

it's taken this long to address. it should never have come to this point. it should never have been on the heels of the fiscal cliff. this is something that should have been addressed within days if not a week or two after the storm had hit. the metropolitan area has the largest concentration of people. down in katrina if i'm correct, there was an aid bill that was passed ten days within the storm hitting. here we are 60 days after the storm hit and there's no aid bill. it seems to me to be politics as usual in washington, political bickering, and then the bill itself being loaded up with pork barrel and what have you. that's not what we need. business as usual in washington, life is not as usual where i

live right now. the infrastructure is severely damaged. the beaches are eroded tremendously. it's going to take a tremendous amount to get the beaches back to where they were. small businesses, mom and pop shops are destroyed. unable to open their doors, to feed their families. this aid bill would go a tremendously long way in helping these people. and the mere fact that it's this far past without being addressed and tomorrow at noon, you know, is it going to be addressed? it certainly seems to me like my politicians are going hear from me and from my community if this is not addressed by noon tomorrow. >> it's going to take a while longer than noon tomorrow when the new congress is sworn in but we wish you only, only the best, ray and linda, thanks so much for sharing your story. you are blessed with a beautiful, beautiful family. as difficult as it has been i'm confident that the future days will be so, so much better.

thank you so much and good luck to all of you. >> thank you. >> when we come back questions and controversy. there's some wild conspiracy theories out there about hillary clinton's hospital stay. ♪

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i'm not a doctor but it seems as though thing secretary of state has come down with benghazi flu. >> it's an allergy that caused light headness. >> like a tree falls in the forest does it fall if nobody hears it fall. did she really have a concussion? maybe she did. who knows. >> so when you're a clinton you're certainly no stranger to controversy. today hillary clinton was released from a new york city hospital following treatment for a blood clot in her head. but that hasn't put an to end all those conspiracy theories out there about her illness. joining us now is democratic strategist, also a senior partner at porter novelli. thanks very much for coming in. >> gloobd here, wolf. >> i want to read the statement that the state department put out about the secretary, secretary clinton was discharged from the hospital this evening. her medical team advised her

that she's making good progress on all fronts and they are confident she will make a full recovery. she's eager to get back to the office and we will keep you updated on her schedule as it becomes clearer in the coming days. what are you hearing? you're close to the clintons. what are you hearing about her condition. >> she's recovering and it's on track to be a complete recovery as chelsea said in her tweet this evening. there's no doubt about it, that she got sick with the flu. you know, got light headed, fainted, hit her head, had a concussion. we all know concussions are serious business. can you completely recover from them. but you need to take your doctor's orders and represents and do exactly what they tell you and that's what she's done and that's why she's on a path to recovery. >> she always wanted to step down as secretary of state around january 20th when the president will be sworn in for his second term. is that still her intention, do

you think? >> i think all plans are as they were. i think ultimately whatever date the transitions occur have everything to do with senator kerry being confirmed as the nominee for secretary of state and very little to do with her current health prognosis. >> what did you think of all those comments before we knew she had a blood clot in her head, all those comment from some of those conservative pun departments out there suggesting she was faking it, making up this illness, if you will, so she wouldn't have to testify about the killing of the u.s. ambassador in benghazi and three other americans. >> you know what my really complicated analysis of that is? they are stupid. people who go out and generate rumors and lies are stupid. and they shouldn't be doing so on national television, and they shouldn't be doing so at the real risk of someone else's health. and hillary clinton is somebody who recognizes not only the responsibility to the job she has, but her role in public life and that's why they've made sure folks knew what's been going on

and for those guys to go out and do that, former ambassador said that. a member of congress said that. a national journalist. that's just stupid, wolf. >> let me read to you a little bit about what the conservative columnist kathleen parker wrote in "the washington post" column in her column today and i'll put it up on the screen. immediately after the benghazi attacks clinton took full responsibility for the events and was accused by republicans of falling on her sword to protect president obama. now that she's temporarily indisposed and unable to elaborate on her admitted responsibility, those same critics insist she's trying to avoid taking personal responsibility. you read that column. what was your opinion? >> well anybody who knows hillary clinton knows she would much rather have been at the senate, on the appointed day at the appointed time answering questions and she did take responsibility because she knows what her role is and she knows what she should do and she does it on a daily basis.

these guys who make a living out of criticizing hillary clinton they need to get a hobby. they show poor judgment, they show lack of intellectual, proper intellectual curiosity. okay lean said something important in there. hillary clinton is damn if she does, damn if she doesn't. she will be fine and move forward even if they don't. >> she's very popular out there as you know our recent cnn poll we asked how is secretary clinton handling the job as secretary of state. 66% approval. 30% disapproval. this illness that we all hope she recovers completely, will you be with her if she runs for president again in 2016? >> i'll always support what contribution hillary clinton believes she can make and that will be her decision when the time comes. >> i believe she still would like to be the first woman who becomes president of the united

states. you agree with me? >> i don't think she knows what she wants to do. i certainly don't. anybody who thinks they do is fibbing to you, wolf. >> thanks very much for coming in and i think i speak for all of our viewers out there we wish her a very, very speedy recovery. >> coming up the stories america are talking about from john boehner to justin bieber, my all-star panel covers it. that's coming up.

new york deserves better than the selfishness we saw on display last night. new jersey deserves better than the duplicity we saw last night. america deserves better than another example of a government who have foregotten who they are there to serve and why. 66 days and counting. shame on you. shame on congress. we certainly have not heard the end of governor chris christie's criticism of house speaker john boehner. joining us to talk about that and more cnn contributor and op-ed columnist for the "new york times" and republican

pollster, and the assistant managing editor of "fortune" magazine and cnn contributor and republican consultant. margaret, let me start with you. those are fighting words from governor christi. should he be commended for putting his people's needs really ahead of party politics, if you will? >> sure he should. but he's also a governor of a state that's struggling and hurting. they are down and out and christi has been lauded for being that guy since the election. a lot of republicans really despise him for doing what he did during the election. many still blame him for mitt romney's loss which is absurd. this is christi's job. he's a tough talker and he's fighting for his state. look, i'm really sympathetic to where christi is coming from. it's not like john boehner hasn't had anything else to do in last few days. boehner's juice is gone. he didn't necessarily have the votes to get another spending bill through his own house.

and so he basically ended up lying and deceiving house republicans that he would bring this to the floor. and then he didn't. which is why the outrage and why he's now been forced to put it into two parts, bring to it the floor on friday in part the flood insurance part and then the rest of it won't happen until the middle of the month. >> use the word lying that's a pretty serious word. let me bring kristen in. disaster relief new jersey, new york, connecticut is concerned. it's a hot political issue. why. >> because even for folks who believe that the government is doing too many things that ought to be left to individuals and the private-sector when it comes to things like taking care of people who have been hit by a disaster, taking care of people in emergency situations, that's something that i think everybody ought to be able to agree on. so that's really what's causing a lot of questions about why hasn't this come to the floor. within this bill, though, there's a lot of stuff, you know, congress seems to be unable to create a bill that

doesn't have a bunch of junk thrown it and a lot of conservatives are rumbling they are frustrated because there are things in this bill that are not necessarily aid going direct try to vichls sandy. in fact i even heard at one point there are things going alaskan salmon fishing, things like a new roof for a smithsonian building. a lot of conservatives hope to strip some of that out and hopefully this can get passed so these victims can actually get the aid they need. >> charles, a lot of people in new york and new jersey, connecticut for that matter they think if this were another part of the country, that it would be a lot more -- the bill would pass a lot more quickly but there's something about these three states that some republicans in washington don't like. >> there may be something to that. what we've seen is when you have natural disasters in other parts of the country and a lot of people have pointed to katrina and louisiana, the federal government was able to act or congress was able to act in a

much more quick way than they are able to act or been willing to act in the case of sandy which affected the northeast which is generally a very democratic part of the country. so i don't know if that is the overall impetus for them moving in a slower, at a slower pace but it's a fact people have been waiting for 60 plus days and this has not gotten to the floor for a vote and that is problematic. the other part of that that you cannot stress enough is that these are the parts of the country that send much more money to washington than they get back. and the places, you know, more southern places send less money to washington than they get back and we have been able to move in a more quick and expedient way to get aid to people who need it. i think we have to look closely as that disparity. >> leigh, congressman peter king of new york he's a republican he

said after the meeting he had with the speaker john boehner, boehner promise this vote beginning on friday, then in the middle of the month. gave him an olive branch. peter king had been very critical earlier in the day. all of a sudden he was reassured. do you think that reassurance is justified. >> i'm not sure. look, i know john boehner has been preoccupied. we all know that. i want seems to me that there's just a great miss of nothing else a real moment to come out a little bit like a hero. it's just tone deaf. whatever the practicalities are that this involving hurricane sandy would get pushed aside. you know look at the martens. they lost their house. so many people in new york still without power. it's still an ongoing problem and it's been maybe, it's not in the forefront any more but it seems to me there's just even the optics of it would be perceived by most people so

that's what seems to be most surprising here. >> everybody stay put don't go anywhere. we have more to discuss when we come back. i want to get your take on one of the big story of the day. get this. al jazeera buying current tv.

we're back now with our all-star panel. guys, there was news today in the news business all of a sudden we learn that al jazeera is purchasing current tv, a

statement from al gore the former vice president one of the owners of current tv saying this, we are proud and pleased that al jazeera the award-winning international news organization has bought current tv. since its founding in 2005, current has grown into a national network available in nearly 60 million homes offering thought-provoking commentary and emmy and peabody award-winning programming. current media was built based on few key goals to give voice to those who are not typically heard to speak truth to power to provide independent and dip verse points of view and to tell the stories that no one else is telling. al jazeera has the same goals and like current believes that facts and truth thread a better understanding of the world around us. i was surprised when i heard about this earlier in the day. what do you think? >> i wasn't aware of the rumblings that this was going to happen, but you know you have to

look at al jazeera. al jazeera wants to be a major player in international news and to do that you have to have a bigger footprint in america. they've been struggling to get their distribution in america. not on a lot of cable networks. this is a way for them to deal with that issue is by buying current. the problem with al jazeera and al jazeera is a fine news organization. the few times i've seen it it's been solid reporting. but there's a lot in a name and americans have a long memory, and people are still kind of upset and remembering the fact that al jazeera showed those al qaeda tapes or, you know, video or audio right after 9/11 and i think that, you know, it still is to be seen whether america will warm to them and look past that happening post-9/11.

>> this is an explosion of far left wing. current tv was financially unsustainable as a model. there was a massive blow-out with keith oberman. to have the qatari government come along and offer them $300 million. there's numbers all over the place. undisclosed amount. this is a good deal for current tv. fwhond they took it. >> it underscores, leigh, i guess the influence that wealth the government in qatar, i've gone to al jazeera headquarters. they have a huge reach in arabic obviously throughout the arab world. they are trying to expand al jazeera english. now this move on current tv that's pretty significant,

underscores i think what qatar wants, more and more influence around the world. >> absolutely. you know we're not seeing that many deals being done lately because, you know, things here have, are still just kind of slowly recovering. so this is significant. it's interesting. but i will say, you know, al jazeera may have an awakening ahead it because all the money in the world can't necessarily navigate the intricacies of the cable business which is very complicated. they will learn quickly about the wonderful world of carriage which is a very complicated way that cable networks have to get into american households. it's a per subscriber basis. these fees are negotiated. they can't always get -- they have to align themselves with the biggest carry towers get in the most homes as margaret was pointing out. this isn't necessarily going totally easy done deal for them to be suddenly every where. >> the former owners of current tv may have got some money but

i'm familiar with the amount of money that exists in qatar right now. if they want to spend is a lot of money on current tv they can have some influence. >> absolutely. i mean, what you've seen in qatar, they are getting the world cup a couple of years from now and there's going to be -- they are investing a ton of money in building stadiums, they are going to be climate-controlled. i think what this is all about it's trying to change the brand of an al jazeera. with it maybe the brand of sort of middle eastern nations in the u.s. there was an interesting opportunity for al jazeera during the arab spring when you would start to hear stories about clashes between al jazeera journalists and sort of the rulers in power that were being protested or being deposed in some of these countries. i thought the arab spring was an interesting moment where al jazeera could have established itself with a lot of credibility more mainstream in the u.s..

it didn't accomplish that. i'm assuming that's what this current tv purchase is attempting to do. on a totally different story, kim kardashian, and kanye, they are going to have a baby. charles, what do you make of all of this. we're hearing these details for weeks and weeks and months and months. >> you would come to me first. you threw me for a loop here. congratulations, kim and kanye. all the best to you. this is not something that i think ranks really highly on minus radar. i congratulate anybody if you're having kids and you're happy about it. >> you're not excited about america's royal pregnancy? >> i'll tell you what sometime in june a lot of tabloid newspapers will be sold because you'll have the actual royal baby over the uk being born hopefully and a healthy pregnancy and then in the u.s.

we have the kimye baby. i don't know what that says about us here in america. >> wolf, i'm so glad you asked us about this. it doesn't feel right if wolf blitzer is not asking about kim kardashian. >> it's a great point. in the united states the kardashians have me their wealth by completely displaying their private lives in a public way and then capitalizing on it and it's such a contrast to what's going to happen on the other side of the pond. also a contrast too to a lot of other high-profile americans in the same field. look at beyonce and jay-z, had a baby. they are a very high-profile couple. and we're very quiet and very private. there's a lot of contrast and a lot of questions about the kardashian way and apparently there's a reality tv already in the mix for the unborn child. >> may surprise to you hear i actually met kim kardashian at

the white house correspondents association dinner. she count be nicer. i met her mom as well. i wish her, kanye only only the best. leigh any final thoughts? >> this will be a major, major twitter moment. kim kardashian -- i don't know the numbers but she's one of the top people on twitter. so twitter has had a hard time monetizing its business model. maybe there's a way in the next seven, eight no, sir figure it out so this can be some sort of bonanza. because it will blow up as they say. >> she only has 17 million followers. when she tweets those 140 characters or less that goes out immediately to 17 million in a got to tell you many of those people will retweet her right away. >> wolf, do you follow kim kardashian? >> i got to go check. i probably do. hey guys thanks very much. when we come back we're going switch gears. david petraeus, unfinished

business. how he changed america's military.

from my perspective at least, he has provided this country an extraordinary service, we are safer because of

the work that dave petraeus has done. >> before the scandal, before the headlines general david petraeus was on a mission to remake america's military but all that fell apart when he broke his own rule about publicity, never become your own front page headline. joining us now a man who knows a lot about general petraeus, fred kaplan. author of the important book "the insurgents." thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> you add ad post script about the paula broadwell affair. were you surprised as we all were when we first heard about day fair. how stunned were you. >> i was pretty surprised. as you know, wolf, i never met an unassuming four star general. dave petraeus was more assuming than many. this was a guy who when he was commander in iraq he just did things on his own. when he was occupying mosul and

no command anywhere in iraq he opened up the boarder to syria, he set up economic enterprises, he held elections, all of this on his own. when he commanded all of iraq he basically set up the sons of iraq which paid ex-militants to come over and fight on the american side fighting the jihadist. again on his own authority. he didn't tell his superiors back in washington about this. and these kinds of enterprises, he did this, he had to do it because that was the only way he could succeed on the battlefield. but, you know, once you do this sort of thing enough you get used to it. >> i spent a little time with him in baghdad in 2005. i saw how he operated and obviously he was very self-confident, very unique and he did things exactly the way you point out the way he thought was best for the country. did you in your research, you did a ton of research did you meet paula broadwell.

i know you interviewed over 100 people in connection with the book. >> no i never interviewed her. i know who she is. i know people who month her. this affair was widely rue motor but nobody really believed it was happening until it was discovered. >> yeah. so do you believe he did the right thing by resigning? >> here's the thing that people don't realize. you know, adultery, it's a crime in the uniformed code of military justice. >> even if you're retired. >> there's an old saying generals only retire when they go bed at night. he felt bound by that code. i'm told reliably president obama sat on his resignation letter for a full day. he didn't want to accept it. petraeus insisted. >> you think the president should have the scandal. >> do you think the president should have accepted the resignation? >> the cia is a weird place when

it comes to moral stands too. but the thing to keep in mind about petraeus is aside from all this, that same personality that might have led to the scandal also led to a genuine revolution within the united states army and the story of david petraeus is the story of that revolution and this is a matter of life and death of war and peace. it affected the way the army fought in iraq and afghanistan for better and for worse. it meant the difference between life and death for thousands of people. >> if your book "the insurgents" you outline the changes. give us an example of two of how he changed the united states milt tear. >> at the beginning of the iraq war when the occupation began no one knew it was an insurgency. donald rumsfeld prohibited

anyone from using the word "insurgency" that would mean you come up with a insurgency strategy and that means you have to stay there for a long time and get involved in nation building which was a curse word to him. and so it wasn't just rumsfeld, the army, they had a code. what was a war? a war is a major conflict involving tanks on tanks. in the latest military manuals before petraeus became commander this kind of war, a insurgency war was a military operation other than war. it wasn't even called a war. they called it mootwar and the joint chairman of the chief of staffs say that a real man does not do a mootwar. so trying to win over the hearts and minds of the people, in

other words to recognize that the insurgency had a cause and there was injustices against the reigning government and you had to deal with the causes and build up the economy and make the government more legitimate, this is something that the conventional army had no interest in doing whatsoever until he came along and changed that. >> five years from now when we look back an the whole operation in iraq going back to march 2003 when the u.s. went in and got rid of saddam hussain and got out will this have been worth it for the united states? >> the whole point of the surge and the shift to the insurgency strategy both of which he maneuvered into being, this was to give the iraqi government some breathing space. this was to give them an

opportunity to work out their own politics. if it turns out that the iraqi government has no interest in reconciling with sunnis, for example, and they have no interest in working out a division of oil revenue or working out property divisions, then it might have all been for naught because it worked tactically but the strategic purpose of the war may go down the drain. >> and if iraq becomes a strategic ally of iran that is a game changer as well. fred, thanks very much for joining us. up next, a soldier comes home. i'll talk to the family behind this heart-warming reunion at the rose parade. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later, i was saving big on car insurance. with snapshot, i knew what i could save before i switched to progressive. the better i drive, the more i save. i wish our company had something this cool.

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a heart-warming way to start the new year, eric paz returned from afghanistan to surprise his wife and four-year-old son when he stepped off a float during the rose bowl parade. there were tears, smiles and a happy boy. the sergeant and his wife and boy are joining us. thanks for your service and for joining us. you surprised your wife and son. how did you keep it a secret?

>> it was very difficult to keep that a secret from them. basically any time my wife brought up the fact that you know, i entered them in a contest. any time anything was brought up about this i changed the subject. >> how did you feel when you realized that was your husband? >> i was just so excited and overwhelmed to see him. it's -- it was great. >> is this the best christmas present you could have received eric, junior? >> he is talking to you, buddy? >> how happy were you to see your dad? so happy he doesn't want to express in words how happy he was. what's your wish, sergeant for other military families right now who are away from their loved ones?